Payment card data in Finland shows that people are buying ten percent less petrol than last year but are still spending 40 percent more on it.

Fuel prices in Finland have reached record highs this summer, rising as much as 60 percent from last year.

While prices have come back down from peaks earlier this summer, gasoline and diesel average more than two euros per litre.

Payment card data collected by retail banks OP and Nordea indicate that people in Finland have purchased ten percent less fuel this summer than last year. At the same time, drivers are spending 40 percent more on fuel due to a surge in prices.

Consumers will continue grappling with high fuel costs, according to analysts, who told Yle that it's difficult to predict how prices will develop over the next few months.

Nordea analyst Lauri Vepsäläinen said it's unlikely that fuel prices will drop in the short term.

"I would estimate that prices will stay at current levels in the coming months. It does not look like they will drop sharply because crude oil prices are expected to remain high," he explained.

Tiina Viksten, a development manager for the Abc service station chain, said global economic instability is complicating estimates on future fuel prices.

"Right now it's very difficult to attempt to forecast gasoline prices. Most forecasts have probably been wrong one way or another," she said.

Vepsäläinen meanwhile did not rule out the possibility of fuel prices hitting new highs.

"Gasoline prices could start climbing in the coming months. In June, crude oil prices spiked and that's also possible in the near future," he explained.

Motorists responding to a recent survey by insurance firm LähiTapiola said they spent an average of 330 euros a month on driving expenses.